Tale of a Redguard
by Han Shoots First
Summary: A young Redguard gets captured by the Imperials, when she escapes through rather extraordinary circumstances, a fate is suddenly forced upon her, she has to figure out a way to deal with the responsibility of being the last hope for man.


Prologue:

The "old one" meditated atop his mount, then he heard a crying, but it was not a normal cry, he understood this cry, without any mental translation. He wanted to find this crying and help the child. He flew across large distances, across the entire expanse of Skyrim, then he heard the crying become louder, and louder. He soon found it, he looked and saw a single man, a Nord on his knees crying. The man was holding something, a child the child was crying also, that was the source the "old one" was looking for. The "old one" landed near the Nord. As he did the Nord put down the child and drew his sword, "Stay back! Stay back you terrible beast!"

The "old one" spoke very quietly in the common tongue, "Is that your child?"

"What does it matter? Stay back!"

"Take that child away, far away, you need to protect that child with your life. Where is it's mother?"

The Nord man slowly lowered his sword; he looked at the ground near the "old one". The "old one" followed the Nord's look and saw a Redguard woman, lying on the ground, she was dead. He looked back at the Nord, "That child is very special, you must protect it, for it has the blood of dovah."

And with that, he flew away...

* * *

I was running, running, faster and faster, yet still not fast enough. "Hey, stop!" I heard a voice behind me yell.

It wasn't a friendly voice either, so I kept running. I looked to my right, the border. If I could make it past the border I'd be able to find someone that doesn't know me.

I immediately turned to the right and heard the sound of a blade just barely missing me. I came to a ledge and managed to stop myself from falling. The ground below was jagged and rough, but there was a large pond close enough for me to jump to, it was a long shot but better to die that way than the countless other ways that I could see in my near future if I stayed. And so I jumped I let out a great yell as I left the ledge and felt weightless, I felt free...

I fell for a long time, then all I remember is the rushing sound of water and feeling the coolness on my skin. I quickly emerged from the water and gasped for air, I swam to shore and coughed up some water. I looked back up at the cliff, I saw two Redguard's, a man and a woman, looking down at me, I smiled and got back up. I began to walk aimlessly; soon I found a road and followed it away from where I was running. I ran across a group at a small crossroads, I hadn't even been walking with them when I saw a group of Imperial soldiers jump out and grab them. I tried to run but then I felt something hit me on the head, then, everything went black. I woke up dazed, I tried to get my bearings. I felt my body moving around, and my head, Talos, my head felt like it was about to split in two. I tried to rub my temples with my hands but my hands wouldn't spread apart. I looked at them and saw a medium sized rope tied. I tried to work my way out of the bindings but couldn't, eventually a blonde haired Nord sitting across began to talk, "Good, you're awake.

"Ugh. Where am I, who are you?" I asked still trying to get my bearings.

"You were like us, got caught in that Imperial trap right near the border." The Nord said.

Suddenly another man sitting near the back of the cart spoke, "This is all your fault. The Empire was nice and lazy before you Stormcloaks came along. I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell by now."

"You don't want to go to Hammerfell," I said dully.

"It's better than being with these two blasted Stormcloaks," the man said.

"Watch your tongue horse-thief. You're speaking to Jarl Ulfric, true High-King," the Nord interjected.

"Wait. If he's here then...oh gods where are they taking us."

It was silent for a moment before the Nord spoke, "Where are you from, horse-thief?"

"What does it matter?"

"A Nord's last thoughts, should be of home."

"Rorikstead, I'm from Rorikstead."

I chuckled slightly to myself. "What's so funny, stranger."

"Just that the last thing I want to remember about my home is running away from it."

"Why?" The Nord asked.

"Because it sucked."

"There has to be something about it that you remember, something that gives you the strength to continue?"

"Ha, something that gives me strength, yeah I've got something that gives me strength. How about discrimination, disdain, and disgust? Along with being forced to run from the law for something I never did. Yeah I've got plenty to make me strong."

"What do you mean? Were you discriminated because you're Redguard?" The thief asked.

"I wish! Then I wouldn't be sitting here with you. No it's because my father's Nord. So everyone in Hammerfell thinks I'm a liar and my mother wasn't Redguard. So naturally, when a Redguard Princess disappears in the same town I happened to be in, everyone blames the foreigner. So that's why."

"So where are you from then?" The thief asked.

I glared at him as the memories flooded my mind, "Taneth."

I looked to where we were heading and saw a wall with a large wooden gate, the cart in front of us approached and the gate opened, "General Tallius, sir. The Headsman is waiting," a soldier above the gate yelled.

"Good," was all the general said in response.

The carts entered the town and I heard the townsfolk talking and murmuring. Everything they said had a slight sound of disgust in it, hidden, deep beneath the façade of justice. This actually wasn't all bad, I would much rather go through the painless death of execution by a Headsman, than go through the torturous deaths that awaited me in Hammerfell. Eventually, the cart stopped. "Why are we stopping?" The thief asked.

"Why do you think? End of the line," said the Nord.

We all stood and filed out of the cart. Once we had all gotten on the ground a Imperial soldier started to go through a list. First went the Nord that was in the cart with us, then they called the thief, "No, no you can't do this, I haven't done anything wrong."

The thief tried to run but a woman soldier signaled the archers and the thief collapsed, dead. "Anyone else feel like running?" she yelled.

The soldier kept going through the list, "Wait, you there. Your name's not on the list. What should we do?"

"Put her with the rest. What's your name prisoner?"

"Does my name matter at this point?" I replied.

"Not really, move along now."

The soldier with the list spoke again, "What are you doing here Redguard? Sellsword? Trader from Stros M'kai?"

"She goes to the block," I heard the other Imperial say.

The Imperial with the list nodded and turned back to me, "I'm sorry, we'll make sure your remains are returned to Hammerfell."

"Don't, send them to Solitude."

"Uh, of course, why?"

"It's where my father was from," I walked over to the block.

The General started saying something to the Jarl, he'd just finished when a loud screech echoed off the mountains. "What is that?" I heard one of the guards ask.

"It's nothing," the General said, "Give them their last rites."

A priest began to talk when another Stormcloak interrupted him, "For the love of Talos, shut up."

The Imperial woman knocked him on his knees and pushed him down, the man made a comment before the Headsman killed him, "Next, the Redguard!" the woman yelled.

There was another screech that echoed throughout the valley. "I said, next Prisoner."

I approached the block and felt the Imperial push me to my knees, then she put her foot on m back and held me down, there was another screech, then I saw it, a dark shadow, a dragon.


End file.
